Beyond School Gates: Adama’s Dream and the Promise of Education
In the village of Tsukumo Tilijo, Bazza in Michika LGA of Adamawa State, young Adama dreams of a life she’s never known – education. Her story reveals the barriers of poverty, gender bias, and cultural practices, highlighting the need for gender-responsive education policies.
By Obidah Habila Albert
In the quiet village of Tsukumo Tilijo, Bazza, in Michika local government area of Adamawa State, Nigeria, a young girl named Adama Hamidu dreams of a life she’s never known. Her dream is simple yet profound: to go to school. For Adama, education represents a doorway to opportunity, a promise of freedom from the cycle of poverty that has gripped her family.
“I have never attended school,” Adama said, her voice tinged with a mixture of hope and resignation. “It’s not like I don’t want to. I really want to attend school, but the problem is that my father can’t afford to enroll us. If he could, he would.”
Adama spends her days helping her mother with household chores, watching her peers in their colored uniforms pass by on their way to school. “Whenever I see my mates going to school, I feel sad about it because I can’t attend,” she confesses. “At times, I beg my father to help enroll us. He always says he will when he gets the chance.”
Her father, Hamidu Hamman Bazza, once a proud farmer, now struggles to provide for his family through petty trade. His farm, once their lifeline, was destroyed by insurgents. “I have eight children,” he explains, “and none of them are in school currently. If I had something credible to do, they would be there today.”
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For families like Adama’s, poverty is a formidable barrier to education, but it is not the only one. In Tsukumo Tilijo, cultural practices and gender biases often dictate the fate of girls. “Some parents don’t see the importance of educating girls,” says Abdulrahman Bin Adama, the village head. “They believe it’s unnecessary, especially when girls are seen as future wives and mothers rather than individuals with potential beyond the household.”
Adama’s mother, Aisha Dahiru, carries the weight of this reality heavily. “I have eight children, and only two ever attended school,” she says, tears welling in her eyes. “Even those two had to drop out because we couldn’t afford it any longer. It pains me deeply, but what can I do? The little we get goes to feeding the family.”
Despite these challenges, Aisha’s resolve remains strong. “I don’t want my children to suffer the way I did. I dropped out of school in primary three when my parents died. I’ve been through so much, and I hope for a better future for them.”
For Adama’s brother, Mubarak, the pain of missing out on education is personal. “I was in school but had to drop out in JSS2. It’s been four years now,” he says. “When I talk to my friends, they mock me, saying, ‘What do you even know?’ It hurts.”
These stories are not isolated, they represent a larger component of systemic barriers to education, particularly for girls. While poverty is a recurring theme, the village head points out another challenge: a lack of awareness among parents. “Some parents don’t care enough to ensure their children go to school,” he laments. “Others, having been dropouts themselves, don’t see education as a priority.”
The Education Sector Plan (ESP)
The international community pledged during the 2000 World Education Forum in Dakar that no nation with an effective strategy to achieve the Education for All goals would be prevented from doing so by a lack of funding. Since then, several nations have made creating an education sector plan (ESP) a top priority. ESPs are an effective instrument for coordinating partners and generating more internal and external resources. They also offer the policies and strategies for national education reform. They are now a vital document used by governments to communicate to all possible investors that their educational policies are credible, sustainable, and deserving of funding.
The Global Partnership for Education (GPE) defined an ESP in a 36-page document titled “Guidelines for Education Sector Plan Preparation” obtained by this reporter as a national policy instrument, elaborated under the responsibility of government, which provides a long-term vision for the education system in the country, and outlines a coherent set of practicable strategies to reach its objectives and overcome difficulties. It is based on a sound analysis of the current situation and of the causes of successes achieved and difficulties encountered. It should include implementation and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) frameworks.
The group (GPE) added that essential characteristics of a credible ESP should be guided by an overall vision which includes the government’s development policy, the approach the government will follow to reach its goal, and the principles and values that will guide this approach; be strategic in identifying the human, technical, and financial capacities required to achieve its vision; should cover all subsectors (early childhood education, primary, secondary, and higher education), and should also include non-formal education, as well as adult literacy; be evidence-based; should be based on an analysis of the current trends and thoughtful hypotheses for overcoming financial, technical, and political constraints to effective implementation; include an analysis of the vulnerabilities specific to a country such as conflicts, disasters, and economic crises; and most importantly, it should recognize that, within a country, there may be significant gender differences between girls and boys and inequalities between groups of students in their participation in education and the quality of education they receive.
Nigeria’s ESP emphasizes universal basic education, but the reality in rural areas like Tsukumo Tilijo, Bazza in Michika LGA of Adanawa state often tells a different story. Here, the challenges of insurgency, poverty, and entrenched cultural practices have widened the gap between policy and practice. A gender-responsive education sector plan (GRESP) addresses this gap by ensuring that both boys and girls have equal opportunities to thrive. For girls in Tsukumo Tilijo, this means dismantling barriers that stem from harmful traditional beliefs and economic hardship. Adama’s story illustrates why gender-responsive planning is crucial. While her male siblings face their own struggles with accessing education, societal expectations often impose an additional layer of restriction on girls. In Tsukumo Tilijo, many families still view education for girls as unnecessary, prioritizing early marriages or domestic responsibilities instead.
“We have a lot of school dropouts here,” says Abdulrahman Bin Adama, the village head. “Parents think education for girls isn’t important. They say, ‘Why educate her when she’ll end up in her husband’s house?’ This mindset is what we are fighting.”
A gender-responsive education sector plan must therefore tackle such harmful practices through community awareness and sensitization. Sensitizing communities about the importance of girls’ education, providing financial support to families, and ensuring safe and accessible schools are all critical steps.
The Struggles
Adama’s story is one of resilience, but it is also a story of struggle shared by her entire family. Her father, Hamidu Hamman Bazza, once a farmer, now ekes out a living through petty trade after insurgents destroyed his farmland.
“I have eight children,” he explains. “None of them are in school. My two eldest boys were enrolled at one point, but when my farm was razed, I couldn’t keep up with the costs. Now, even they are out of school.”
His wife, Aisha Dahiru, told this reporter. “It hurts to see my children at home while others are in school. Sometimes they cry when they see children in uniforms. But what can we do? The little we earn barely feeds us.”
Aisha’s own education was cut short in primary school when her parents passed away. The bitterness of that experience has fueled her desire for a better future for her children. “I don’t want them to suffer the way I did,” she says. “But without help, I can’t change their situation.”
The cycle of poverty is evident in Mubarak, Adama’s older brother. Once a promising student, he dropped out in JSS2 when the family could no longer afford school fees. “It’s been four years,” he says. “My friends mock me, saying, ‘What do you even know?’ It makes me feel worthless.”
For girls like Adama, the barriers are compounded by their gender. In Tsukumo Tilijo, girls are often expected to prioritize domestic chores over education. While Adama’s parents do not send her out to hawk goods—a common practice in the region—they also lack the means to support her schooling.
Community and Leadership
The role of community leadership in shaping attitudes toward education cannot be overemphasized. As the village head, Abdulrahman Bin Adama has seen firsthand how poverty and harmful traditions intersect to deny children, especially girls an education.
“Some parents don’t care about their children’s education because they themselves are dropouts,” he observes. “But we must change this mindset. Education is not just for the boys. Girls need it too. They are the future of this community.”
Leaders like Abdulrahman advocate for greater government support to address these challenges. Thus, Gender-responsive ESPs must include partnerships with local leaders to bridge the gap between policy and community realities.
Breaking the Barriers
Adama’s story is not unique, but it is powerful in its simplicity. It highlights the urgent need for reforms that prioritize the most vulnerable – rural girls who face the dual burden of poverty and gender discrimination.
In a 159-page document obtained by this reporter titled “Guidance for Developing Gender-Responsive Education Sector Plans”, GPE highlighted “A Two-Pronged Approach to Addressing Gender in ESPs” according to the United Nation’s Women which combines:
Gender-targeted interventions that focus specifically on addressing barriers to education faced by girls or boys (or men or women) because of their gender. These could include quotas for girls’ or boys’ enrollment and attainment, the furnishing of segregated latrines and provisions for menstrual hygiene management, girls’ or boys’ after-school clubs that provide support and extra-curricular learning opportunities, or bursary schemes and cash transfers linked to girls’ attendance and delay of marriage. and;
Gender integration which involves identifying and responding to gender differences and inequalities during every phase of an endeavor — from analysis, planning and design through implementation, monitoring and evaluation. In the education sector, this approach influences processes at the level of system reform. Planning and policy development take into account the gender-specific needs, interests and values of women, men, girls and boys, recognizing that gender differences influence how policies are developed and implemented.
The group added “gender equality in education does not simply mean equal numbers of girls and boys (this is referred to as gender parity), nor does it mean treating them the same. It involves understanding where differences and inequalities exist among girls and boys in terms of needs and rights; identifying any practice or trend that prevents boys or girls, or both, from realizing their full potential to grow into responsible and empowered individuals; and ensuring that the ESP addresses these in a meaningful way”
Hope
Despite the odds, Adama remains hopeful. “If anyone could help enroll me in school,” she says, “I’d be so happy and study hard”
Her dream is a beacon of possibility in a landscape of challenges. It is a reminder that every child, regardless of gender or circumstance — deserves the opportunity to learn, grow, and contribute to society.
On their part, the Adamawa State Government has launched a new education sector policy on December 17, 2024, which according to the State’s Commissioner for Education, Dr. Umar Garba Pella, is gender responsive. While this reporter is yet to access the policy document, for girls like Adama, they only hope that the new policy document can address their concerns.
This report was published with collaborative support from ImpactHouse Center for Development Communication and System Strategy and Policy Lab (SSPL)
